Combined refrigerator-and water



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COMBINED REFRIGERATOR'AND WATER FILTER.

No. 421,689. Patented Feb. 18, 1890'.

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G. FLEMING. COMBINED EEPRIGEEATOE AND WATER FILTER.

UNITED STATES `PATENT EEICE.

GEORGE ELEMING, or LAKE, ILLINOIS.

COMBINED REFRIGERATOR AND WATER-FILTER.

SP1?CIIEICATIONl forming part of Letters Patent No. 421,689, datedFebruary 18, 1890.

Application led June 18, 1889. Serial No.314,7l2. (No model.)

T0 all whom, it mayconc'n:

Be it known that I, GEORGE FLEMING, of the town of Lake, in the countyof Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in a Combined Refrigerator and 'Water-Filter; and I dohereby declare that the following` is a full, clear, and exactdescription thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,and to the letters of reference Inarked thereon, which form a part ofthis specification.

This invention relates to a novel construetion in refrigerators orcooling apparatus; and it consists in the features of construction andcombination of parts hereinafter fully described, and pointed out in theappended claims.

This apparatus is designed to be used for cooling` purposes with orWithout the employment of ice as a cooling medium, but is designed moreparticularly to be used without the. employment of ice for the purposeset forth. It has been found by experiments that the temperature of thewater which is taken from lakes'or rivers to supply cities with issufiiciently low to make it pleasant for all drinking purposes or forthe purpose of refrigeration or preserva tion of articles of food. Thedifficulty heretofore has been that during the winter and summer, whenconsumers open faucets in their houses and draw water off which has beenstanding in the pipes for a long time, this water is warm and of anunpleasant taste; but if it is allowed to run for some time it wouldgradually become very cool, so that it could be utilized forrefrigeration land for usual drinking purposes. The apparatus which isthe subject of this invention is designed to utilize this normallydowtemperature of the water supplied to cities from such reservoirs forrefrigeration or other cooling purposes.

In the drawings, Figure l is a View of the apparatus in front elevationwith the door open. Fig. 2 is a View in central vertical section on theline 2 2 of Fig. at. Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view on the line3.3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional `view on the indirectline i 4 of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a View in front elevation of theapparatus, showing a convenient manner of connecting' In said drawings,A is the outer box ofthe refrigerator or cooling apparatus, which is*provided with aninner box A and a door A2.

The inner box A is divided into an upper and lower chamber by means of ahorizontal partition 0r tray a. The inner box A Is made small enough toallow a space between its -walls and they walls of the outer box, whichspace is divided by a horizontal partition a', of wire open-work orother reticulated material, thus dividing the space between the walls ofsaid box into an upper chamber a2 and a lower chamber a3, as clearlyshown in Fig. 2. The upper chamber a2 extends from the partition a tothe top ofthe outer box and is filled with any suitable iilteringInaterial.

B indicates a water supply pipe, which passes into the inner box A andis led to a point about the center of the partition or tray a, where itis formed into a coil B and passes out through the wall of the inner boxinto the upper chamber a2, where it is turned, passes downwardly, andterminates near the lower end of the lower chamber a3. b is a cockarranged in said pipe to regulate the flow of water therethrough.

The tray a, which divides the inner box, is provided with ribs a4,projecting upwardly from its surface a slight distance above the top ofthe coil B, and which are adapted to support an ice -tray a5, which isprovided with a drip-pipe a to carry oif the water from the melted ice.

a7 a7 indicate a plurality of holes or perforations formed in the traya, which register with the plurality of holes a8 as in the icetray a5.These holes are provided so as to permit the free circulation of airbetween the upper and lower chambers of the inner box a', which boxisprovided with suitable shelves'or simie lar devices, upon whicharticles of food or other articles to be cooled are placed.

B2 indicates an overflow-pipe having one end located near the upper endof the upper chamber a2 and its opposite end passing outside of theouter box A and led to any desired point. An exhaust-pipe b is locatedat the bottom of the lower chamber 0.3, and by means of which the waterwithin the chambers co2 IOO and d3 is adapted to be drawn off when theapparatus is not designed to be used.

The operation of the apparatusis as follows: When it is desired to usethis apparatus, the water is turned on by means of the cock l) andallowed to pass through the coiled pipe B', from whence it passesthrough the continuation of the pipe B into the chamber a3 between theboxes A and A. As the flow continues the water will rise within saidchamber, and also through filtering material in the chamber a, until itreaches the upper end of the overflow-pipe B2, which is arranged nearthe upper end of said chamber a3. The' water will then iiow into saidpipe and will be carried off to be used for drinking and other purposes,as will be more clearly described hereinafter.

Upon using the device,in the first instance it is preferable to place apiece of ice upon the ice-tray, so as to thoroughly effect the coolingoperation, although this is not necessary, as the same end can beattained by permitting the water to iiow through the pipe B, the coilB', and the chambers as and a2 a sufficient length of time, thenormally-low temperature of the water having the desired cooling efTectand keeping the interior of the inner box at a temperature sufficientlylow for the purpose of refrigeration or preservation.

I have found it desirable to pack saltpeter and common salt around thecoil B between the partition a and ice-tray a5, as said ingredients tendto absorb the heat, and hence assist in keeping the said coil cool. Itwill also be noted that the water, after passing through the upperchamber a2, is filtered, so that it forms a bet-ter article for drinkingpurposes.

In Fig. 5 I have shown the manner in which said cooling apparatus orrefrigerator will commonly be connected with the source of water-supplyand with'the drain-pipe, al-

though it is obvious that other forms can be employed equally as well.

C indicates a pipe which supplies water to a house, and which isprovided with a stop-cock c. The pipe B of the cooling apparatuscommunicates with the pipe C, preferably at the opposite side of thestop-cock c from which the faucets of the .house are placed, and theoverflow-pipe B2 communicates with the pipe C at the opposite side ofsaid stop-cock c to which the pipe B communicates therewith. b2indicates a stopcock arranged in said overflow-pipe B2. The exhaust-pipeD' in this instance communi- Cates with the drain-pipe C' of thebuilding, and is also provided with a stop-cock h3. c' c' indicate,faucets arranged within the building and communicating with the pipe C.

In the construction above described when the apparatus is in use thestop-cock cV is closed, the cocks b and b2 are open, and the stop-cockL3 in the exhaust-pipe, which communicates with the drain pipe, isclosed. Thus it will be seen that the water iiowing through the pipe Cwill pass into the pipe B through the coil and filtering-chamber, andthen outwardly through the overflow-pipe B2 into the main pipe C, fromwhence it will pass through the pipes in the house and be used forordinary purposes; but when it is desired to discontinue the use of theapparatus the stop-cocks b and Z22 are closed and the cocks c and b3opened. The water will then pass into the house directly without passingthrough the. pipes B and B2 and the water remaining within the chambersc2 and a3 between the outer and inner boxes of the apparatus will drainoff through the exhaustpipe b'.

It will be noted thatI provide a refrigerator having a greater capacitythan an ordinary refrigerator that would occupy the same space, owing tothe fact that t-he ice-box can be utilized as a receptacle for storingarticles.

I claim as my inventionl. A refrigerator comprising an outer box and aninner box, a water-space between said boxes, a perforated partitionarranged within said water-space and adapted to divide the same into anupper and a lower chamber, said upper chamber having a lling offiltering material, a pipe leading from a source of water-supply andterminating near the lower part of said lower chamber, and anoverflowpipe having its upper end arranged near the upper part of saidupper chamber, substantially as described.

2. A refrigerator comprising an outer box and an inner box, awater-space between said boxes, a pipe leading from a source ofwatersupply into the inner box and provided with a coil B', which issuitably supported within said inner box, a pipe leading from said coiland terminating near the lower part of the water-space, and anoverflow-pipe arranged within said water-space and having its upper endnear the upper end thereof, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I affix mysignature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE FLEMING.

lVitncsses:

TAYLOR E. Bnown, HARRY COBB KENNEDY.

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